Neil Peterson: Speaking

A few years ago I had a very scary, near death experience happen to us on a backpacking adventure on the West Coast Trail, a 47-mile route that hugs Vancouver Island's Pacific shoreline. During the second day of our trek we were swept away by a rogue wave. But we all survived. Backpacker magazine recently wrote a survival case study based on our experience.

In June 2007, I set out on the West Coast Trail, a challenging coastal hike which hugs the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. With me were my son, my daughter, my nephew, and my nephew’s friend. Despite carefully mapping and planning every leg of the adventure, our hiking party was surprised by a rogue wave that swept us into a cave. Trapped for hours with limited food and water, we had to fend off hypothermia and panic while searching for an escape route. This harrowing experience has been featured in numerous TV, radio, and print media outlets, includingThe Seattle Times,Seattle Post-Intelligencer,The Vancouver Sun,Times Colonist, KOMO-TV’sNorthwest Afternoon, andKING 5 News.